Water-wheel



- a side elevation of my improved wheel.

UNITED, STATES lPATENT; OFFICE.

EDGAR B. BROOKS, F LAFORTE, INDIANA.

WATER-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming pm of Letters Patent No. 224,270, dated February 1 o, 1880.

- Y Application filed November 8,1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR B. BROOKS, of the city and county of La Porte, in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and use-. ful Improvements in Water-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

It is a fact well known to those skilled in such matters that turbine Water-wheels having adjustable feed-chutes or sluice'ways, whereby the water is shut oif or its `volume regulated, are ldefective, because it is not practicable to make the sluiceways so that they will remain tight and shut off the watenperfectlylfor any length of time, and it is very' difficult to make them tight at the start. The number of the parts and the wear upon them make itimpracticable to secure good results for more than a limited period when the wheel is new. I This is a serious defect, because the adjustable chutes are the best for use when anything less than a full head of water is employed-,it being a wellunderstood fact attending the useof the cylinder-gate that when a portion of the water is shut off the power is decreased in a very much greater ratio than the portion of water cut off warrants.

My invention, which is designed to overcome.

the purpose of cutting oi` the water when the.

wheel is to be stopped, and relieving the chutes of the performance of` thatfunction,

therresult being that it becomes Wholly un-y necessary to make the chutes tight, and any looseness imparted to them by wear becomes immaterial instead of an injury, as heretofore.

The invention also consists in certain details of construction, which will be fully explained below.

In the accompanying drawings,l Figure l is 2 is a central vertical section thereof; and Figs. 3 and et are, respectively, a plan ,view and horizontal section ofthe same. Fig. 2 is taken upon the line w .r of Fig. 3, and Fig. 4. upon the line y y of Figs. l and 2. Fig. 5 -is a detail section ofthe sleeve-bearing for the wheelshaft, and is taken upon the line z z of Figs.

1 and 2.

In the drawings, A represents the ordinary turbine wheel carried upon a shaft, A', which is supported upon a pivot, A2, at the bottom, and is provided with a coupling, A3, at the top,

whereby it is connected to the machineryto be operated. B is the usual inclosing-shell.

Y The Wheel-shaft is encircled, both above and below theshell, by a sleeve, B B2, and upon the upper end of this sleeve is an adjustable bearing, B3, composed of three parts, b3, adjustable toward the shaft by means of the screws b4, as will be clearly understood from the detail, Fig. 5. Y

Mounted upon the bearing B3 is a horizontal shaft, C, carrying pinions C and a hand- -wheel, G2, for operating the same.

These pinions engage each with a rack upon the upper ends of rods C3, which extend down through the shell and sustain the cylinder-gate D. By means of these pinions and-racks the gate is raised and lowered, as desired, within the shell, and the part of the sleeve marked B is made tO-extend below the range ofV movement of the cylinder, so it may serve as a guide therefor.

stationary sides E3, and adjustable sides E4.

The parts E4 are pivoted upon pivots c at their inner ends, and their free ends are swung outward in the direction Yof .the arrows bymeans of arms c,.carried by a sliding collar, c2, encircling the shell and riding upon aledge, e3, and operated by a rack, e, and pinion c5, the latter being, mounted upon a vertical shaft extending to a point where it can be reached and turned by the hand of the operator, such shaft not being shown because it is not deemed necessary. i

In Fig. 4 the chutes are shown as entirely closed; but in practice it is unnecessaryto thus closethem, because the gate shutsoft' the water without their assistance. The Outlet is Haring at the bottom, as shown. Y This enables th'e water to spread as soon as it leaves the. Wheel, and thereby to avoid giving any IOO makes a very economical and simple construction.

l claim- 1. The combination, With a water-Wheel having' adjustable feed-chutes, of a cylinclergate, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a water-wheel, of 15 an inclosing-shell, a sleeve around the shaft and extending up from the shell, a cylindergate within the shell, and a rack-and-pinion device for raising and lowering the gate supported upon said sleeve7 substantially as speei- 2o ied.

EDGAR B. BROOKS.

Witnesses WILLIAM ANDREW, MORTIMER NYE. 

